Fashion Mercury
by FlamingWolf
Summary: Minako forces Ami into the Miss Japan pageant!


Author's Note: I'm sorry about the inconsistency in names, but I have no idea what Molly's Japanese name is, so she's the only one with a dub name. Also, I have NO idea how beauty pageants are run. I just thought it would make an interesting story. This is kind of a forerunner to a series of fanfics I am writing now, called the "Shadow Saga". I would like to offer my extreme expressions of regret to various "Dragon Ball Z" fans who may be reading this, or who will read the "Shadow Saga", because I intend the youma to all be Namekian. (Did I spell that right?) Again, my apologies.  
  
  
  
  
  
Fashion Mercury  
  
1 By: Night Star  
  
  
  
"Then you divide by four." Ami reminded her.  
  
"So the answer is 1884.829?"  
  
"Right! You're getting this!"  
  
"Finally!" Mokoto sighed in relief.  
  
"Hey, guys!" Minako yelled, running up the hill.  
  
"Whoa, slow down! Chad and I just cleaned in here!" Rei admonished.  
  
"And you two didn't kill each other in the process?"  
  
Rei stuck her tongue out at the blonde, who giggled. Ami sighed.  
  
"What's up, Minako? You looked as though you had twenty demons after you, you were running so hard!" Usagi asked, for once cutting to the heart of something other than Mamoru.  
  
"Well, I was downtown signing up for an audition to a certain beauty pageant when I heard someone betting that if Ami were to sign up she'd get first place, so I went ahead and signed her up too!" Minako explained in her usual bubbly manner.  
  
Silence reigned for a few seconds, then Ami exploded,  
  
"You did what? I don't want to be in any beauty pageant, and even if I did, I'd like to sign myself up for it! Besides, if by some bizarre twist of fate I did win, how would you take it? I mean, you're the 'goddess of love and beauty' and I'm just a homely brain!"  
  
A sudden thought struck Rei, and she said,  
  
"Hey, this couldn't be more perfect! Isn't Ryo supposed to be back in town soon? We can give you a make-over and Ryo will be falling all over himself to ask you out!"  
  
"Yeah, right! Like she needs any help to get him to ask her out!" Mokoto snorted, as Ami blushed at the thought of the look on Ryo's face. She had seen the way Molly had turned out for her date with Umino following her make-over when Rei, Minako, and Usagi had gotten their hands on her. Umino had been drooling buckets and was about to fall down and worship Molly. Mokoto had solved that by throwing Umino into the backseat of his convertible.  
  
"OK, OK, whatever. By the way, not that it's important or anything, but would you mind telling me the name of the pageant?" Ami asked sarcastically.  
  
"Well, um, it's, uh, Miss Japan." Minako stammered. Ami hit the floor in a dead faint.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A week later, Rei was busy wrecking Ami's closet, looking for the various and sundry things Ami had to wear for the show.  
  
"OK, for the swimsuit competition- ah-ha!" Rei said triumphantly, pulling out the one piece, light blue bathing suit. "Talent Division, hmm, why don't you memorize a poem or something? The question category, well, I KNOW you'll knock 'em dead. Evening wear- Luna!"  
  
The cat trotted in. "What?" She demanded, hopping up onto Ami's dresser  
  
"Remember your little surprise?"  
  
"Do you really think now's the time?" Usagi's guardian asked.  
  
"What now?" Ami asked wearily.  
  
"Luna here has found new transformation pens!" Rei said triumphantly.  
  
"Great, so I'll go out in a mini-skirt for the Evening Wear competition?" Ami asked sardonically.  
  
"No, these happen to be our transformation pins from the Silver Millennium." Rei exulted.  
  
"Oh, here." Luna said and dropped a sapphire encrusted pen in the startled, cerulean-haired girl's lap.  
  
"The henshin phrase is 'Mercury Reigning Power' and a wave of nausea is perfectly normal." Luna said in her typically bossy manner.  
  
"Oh, thanks. Mercury Reigning Power!"  
  
Seconds later, cat and priestess were laughing as a beautifully dressed princess ran for the bathroom.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
When a slightly pale Ami emerged (detransformed) from the bathroom, Rei was swearing, and Luna was shouting curses as only a ticked cat can.  
  
"What?"  
  
"This has 'trap' written all over it in neon lettering, that's what." Rei spat. "Listen to this: A new competition has been added this year entitled Sailor Senshi Universe, in which contestants choose or create a senshi and show the costume. The first and second place winners will star in the new 'Sailor Moon' movie."  
  
Ami groaned.  
  
"Well, look at it this way: All you have to do is transform. If it's a trap, you'll be able to blast youma butt, and if it's not a trap, you'll win 'most realistic' at least!"  
  
"Yeah, but I see enough of Usagi everyday. I don't need a bunch of wannabes wandering around in mini-skirts with plastic tiaras."  
  
Rei laughed cynically and went back to raiding Ami's wardrobe.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
"Minako did WHAT to her!?" Mamoru exclaimed. Usagi, hanging on his arm, tried to calm him down.  
  
"Shh, Mamo-chan. I think it'll be good for her. At the very least, it'll boost her self-esteem when she wins."  
  
"My, my, aren't we optimistic today?"  
  
"You don't think she can win?"  
  
"She could if it were about more than just the scantily-clad swimsuit portion; if they took into account the brain and talent part of the competition. I mean, Ami's got a hot bod and all, but-" He trailed off blushing.  
  
"Ah-ha! So you DO think Ami's good looking! Mamoru, Rei and I can turn her into a fashion queen in no time!"  
  
Mamoru turned and grabbed Usagi by the arm.  
  
"Leave her ALONE! I DON'T want you to turn her into a fashion queen. I want her to stay smart, sensible Ami-chan. I'm afraid that if she starts TRYING to be even prettier than she already is, she'll lose track of the important things, like studying and her dream of being a doctor. So let her be in this competition, and then give it up, so she can go back to being our Ami."  
  
Usagi, for once, was speechless.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
  
  
Three weeks later, and after several rehearsals (in which the transformation didn't make either Ami or Minako sick once), it was show time.  
  
Rei, Usagi, Mokoto, Mamoru, and Ryo all had front row seats (much to Mamoru's discomfort). First came the introductions, followed immediately by the swimsuit competition. Mamoru and Ryo tried valiantly, though not quite succeeding, to keep their eyes trained strictly on Ami's face when she stepped out. Rei and Usagi had done their job well, and it appeared that Ami and Minako were tied for first.  
  
Next came the talent division. Minako sang a popular love song. Ryo moaned internally. How could Ami compete with that voice?  
  
They soon had their answer.  
  
Ami came on stage, magnificent in a simple black dress with pearl earrings and necklace. She began to speak. Her voice started out soft and low, and grew with the poem's dramatic power.  
  
"And the highway man came riding, riding-  
  
The audience was at the edge of their seats as the girl enthralled them with the old, familiar epic.  
  
She finished and stepped back, bowing her head. For a heartbeat, all was silent, then the applause started, slowly, then rose to a thundering crescendo. Ami rose her head in astonishment, then curtsied, a glow illuminating her face.  
  
In the wings, a jealous fervor began to heat Minako's countenance.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The competition seemed to be going well, up until the event dreaded by all- the Sailor Senshi Universe. Backstage, Ami angrily glared around at the other girls, who were babbling on about whichever senshi they had chosen.  
  
As if you knew anything about us!  
  
In fact she was so busy glaring on her own, that she didn't see Minako's look of hatred directed at her.  
  
Waiting until she knew the other girls weren't watching, she edged into a bathroom stall, and mouthed almost silently,  
  
"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!"  
  
She felt the now familiar changes of her transformation. She slid out of the stall. A pair of orange heels told her Minako was in the stall next to the one she had occupied.  
  
Turning, another contestant saw her exiting the stall.  
  
"Ooh, look. Miss Prim and Proper is too modest to change here in the open like all of us NORMAL girls. Oh, no, she's too GOOD for us." She sneered.  
  
Ami blinked in surprise, and then had to blink back tears. What was this? She hadn't done anything!  
  
Her light blue mini-skirt swirled around her legs as it had during the hardest maneuvers in battle. The feeling gave her confidence, and she found herself replying acidly,  
  
"If it's a sin to close the door when one is in a public restroom, then why did you close the stall door when you went in earlier? And if it's a sin to be modest, it's no wonder that so many teens have expanding waistlines. I can assure you right now that it's not from overeating?"  
  
"How? Are you one of the ones with the expanding waistlines?" the trouble-maker gibed.  
  
"No. All you have to do is look around sometime. Oh, wait, you would have to use your eyes to actually observe something. O-B-S-E-R-V- E. Look it up sometime."  
  
Turning on her heel, Ami stalked over to her bookbag and pulled out "War of the Worlds". Minako stood ther, her jaw having dropped in astonishment. She couldn't believe that Ami had just spoken to ANYONE like that!  
  
Minako sighed and left the room. She found herself wandering down a dark corridor. Walking softly, drawn irresistibly by some external force, she came to an office lit by a single candle. In the center of the suite was a tall, redhaired, red eyed woman, dressed in black. With her was a grasshopper-like creature.  
  
Looks like trouble. A youma, maybe? She thought. Her suspicions were confirmed seconds later.  
  
"And I want you to attack swiftly and get out with the raw energy we need. We don't know how many real senshi might be wandering around in this obscene exhibition.."  
  
This is definitely NOT my day. First Ami's beating the crap outta me, and now I wander in on a youma conference. Great. I oughtta go find Usagi and warn her. Wait? What is this? That creature looks like a- She thought leaning against the door.  
  
All of a sudden Ami's beating her was the least of her problems.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The door crashed inward, with her still leaning against it. The youma and the over-lord stared at her in astonishment. She groaned.  
  
This is DEFINITELY not my day! She thought, gaping up at the youma. Well, Rini'll be happy to find out that Namics are real. She loves Dragon Ball Z.  
  
Anybody else walking in would have been amazed at the sight. A leggy blonde, in what was obviously a senshi uniform, was lying in an ungraceful sprawl at the feet of an ugly green youma and a tall, elegant woman with a decidedly black aura. With as much dignity as she could muster she stood up and faced the two, and suddenly a plan formed in her mind.  
  
"The boss-man said I had to come report to you. I have found out that one of the contestants, a Miss Mizuno Ami, is really a senshi, Sailor Mercury, the Ice warrior. HE says Mr. Pickle-kami here is supposed to go ahead with the operation."  
  
"Actually, Piccolo is back where he belongs on our home planet. I'm Dende." The youma said. Minako had to work to keep from bursting out laughing. Apparently her plan was working. A pang of guilt pricked her.  
  
Hey, Ami's perfectly OK at taking care of herself. And besides, if she isn't, the rest of us are here to kick butt on the Namic from hell. She told herself fiercely.  
  
"Also, the pompous pain in the ass says you're supposed to help destroy the senshi, since the others he's sent were such incompetents. I'm to stay out of the fighting, since I'm here on spy duty, and it wouldn't look right for one 'contestant' to attack another."  
  
The woman-in-black looked at her, sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward.  
  
"I told him we needed stronger youma, but did he listen? Does he ever listen?" She asked Minako, who allowed herself a weak chuckle.  
  
I should get an Oscar for this performance!  
  
"Go, before someone notices you're missing, Silhouette. I thank you for the information. It's good to know that at least SOMEONE on my staff is capable of getting something done."  
  
Minako bowed and backed out. Once she was in the hall, something struck her. The woman had called her Silhouette! Did that mean that someone within the enemies' ranks looked enough like her that she could be mistaken for her? Also, that wave of nausea washed through her again.  
  
I'm a traitor! I sold out Ami! And all because I'm jealous of her!  
  
Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! You did what you had to!  
  
To save your own neck!  
  
Oh, gods, I'm arguing with myself. A sure sign that I'm going crazy! Yeah, I'm crazy! I would never  
  
have sold out a friend otherwise!  
  
Minako found herself in the hall outside the dressing room. She saw the last contestant from the talent competition enter the backstage area. She sighed, gathered her composure, and walked back into the madhouse.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Ami looked up in surprise as Minako walked back in, not having noticed she had left. She put down the book as the stage manager gave the thirty-second warning. Shouting over the mike, (Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Sailor Senshi Universe!) Ami asked,  
  
"Hey, Minako, where were you?"  
  
"Is it really any of your business?" Minako snapped, to Ami's eye- widening surprise. "If you absolutely MUST know, If you'll die of the suspense if I don't tell you, I was outside getting a breath of air."  
  
"OK, OK, Minako, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was wrong to be wondering where a friend was!" Ami said in a hurt voice, trying to pacify her.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The "Senshi Universe" seemed to be going quite well, Mamoru mused. It didn't seem to be a trap at all. No youma had appeared, none of the girls seemed possessed, and there had been no loud explosions.  
  
"I give you Sailor Venus, the lovely Miss Aino!" The announcer said, and the well known silhouette of their friend entered the stage. Minako came to the center of the stage, and posed in her classic battle stance. She looked ready for a fight. The three senshi in the audience, as well as Mamoru and Ryo tensed, but, as with the previous girls, there was no sign, but for some reason, she glanced out at the audience, and NOT at them, and nodded to someone, before leaving the stage.  
  
"And, the exceptional Sailor Mercury, Miss Mizuno!"  
  
And the trap was sprung. No sooner had Mercury hit center stage, when a green grass-hopper like youma erupted from the backstage area.  
  
"I will have your spirit, Sailor Mercury!"  
  
Oh- Do I risk using a power and showing who I really am? Gods, help me! She prayed. She felt herself responding without making a conscious decision.  
  
" Mercury Ice Star Nova!" She cried. A ball of ice erupted from the palm of her hand and hit the youma. The tall female overlord who had appeared beside him was also caught up in the discharge of energy. Mercury swore for the first time in anyone's hearing and fell to her knees clutching her rapidly swelling palm in pain. There was a scream from both Namic and Humanoid woman, and they disappeared as thoroughly as if they'd been hit by "Moon Gorgeous Meditation".  
  
"Ami!" Mamoru and Ryo cried, jumping up, as they realized she hadn't as of yet moved, for she was still just sitting there, nursing her injured palm. Usagi grabbed Mamoru's arm, and Mokoto grabbed Ryo's, and pulled them back down into their seats. Seconds later, Ami stood, smiled at the shocked audience, and exited the platform. The announcer seemed to recover and announced,  
  
"And here is Sailor Corona, the gorgeous Miss Takeuchi."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The rest of the pageant went off without a hitch. And it came to the final three. Ami and Minako stood nervously side-by-side with another contestant.  
  
"And the third runner up is Miss Chiba!"  
  
The audience cheered. Ami and Minako looked at each other and each gave the other a tight, nervous smile. The girls' friends unconsciously leaned forward as the announcer said,  
  
"And the second runner up is--- Miss Aino Minako!"  
  
The new Miss Japan started her reign in an ungraceful swoon. 


End file.
